


Son Wherever You Go (I Will Always Find You)

by footprintsonthemoon



Series: barry allen: the adorable teenage speedster [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruce Wayne is a Good Dad, Hurt/Comfort, Major character death - Freeform, everyone just thinks he died but he didn't, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 11:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/footprintsonthemoon/pseuds/footprintsonthemoon
Summary: Sometimes the going gets a little rough. Sometimes, that happens to mean Lex Luthor transports you into an alternate universe and your dad thinks you're dead.





	Son Wherever You Go (I Will Always Find You)

Barry Allen-Wayne found it hard to truly hate people. Sure, people got on his nerves and people had been mean to him in the past. He only really hated three people, and they were the man who murdered his mother, Mark Grabowski, and Lex Luthor.

  
And what would you know, Lex Luthor was currently standing in front of the Justice League amid the rubble from the battle that ended only a minute ago.

  
“Luthor.” His dad growled.

  
“Well, if it isn’t the Justice League,” Luthor said, pretending like he wasn’t standing in the destruction his evil robots (or whatever they were) caused.

  
“What was your reasoning for all this Luthor?” Clark asked, cutting right to the chase. “You wouldn’t come out in front of us without some ulterior motive.”

  
“You know me so well Superman, I’m touched.”

  
Barry could feel the ball of nerves in his gut began to grow and he started vibrating at a low level. Lex wasn’t appearing to show any signs of worry, in fact, he was acting like he had the League right where he wanted them.

  
“As you all have probably figured, I drew you all out here for a reason.”

  
Lex paused for dramatic effect (Barry swore he was more dramatic than his dad, which was saying something cause the guy dressed in a bat costume and fought crime every night).

  
“I had decided that Flash here,” he waved towards him. “Would be the perfect subject for my new experiment.”

  
At his words, Barry began vibrating faster. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw everyone else tense up. His dad shifted closer towards him.

  
“What is that supposed to mean?” Hal asked lowly, his ring glowing brighter.

  
“Well,” Luthor smirked. “Perhaps it’d be better if I showed you.”

  
What happened next happened fast, even for Barry. Lex pulled out a gun-looking device out of his suit and aimed it at Barry. The rest of the League moved toward him, but it was too late. Lex pulled the trigger. A beam of light shot out of the weapon, and Barry was too late to dodge it.

  
The beam of light enclosed Barry and he knew no more.

  
***

  
Bruce’s vision went red as he saw his son disappear before his eyes. He lunged towards Luthor and slammed his fist into his face. The only thought he could process as he mercilessly attacked him was _he took my son_.

  
Too soon, he was pulled off Luthor. Clark held his arms back and Bruce watched as Luthor spat blood on the ground, still grinning.

  
“Let me go.” He growled, pulling against Clark’s restraint.

  
“You can’t kill him,” Clark stated.

  
“He killed my son.”

  
“Barry wouldn’t want you too,” Clark told him, his voice weak.

  
He stilled at those words. He deflated, the fight leaching out of him. He watched as Diana put handcuffs on Luthor and started to take him away.

  
“Bruce…” Arthur trailed off, putting his hand on his shoulder.

  
“I need to be alone.” He said, his voice lower than it had ever been.

  
“I do not know if that is a good idea,” J’onn said.

  
“I can take care of myself.” He said before turning away.

  
***

  
“Who do you think he is? A fan?”

  
“I don’t think a fan would materialize in the Watchtower unconscious.”

  
“Point Bats.”

  
“I think he’s starting to wake up Jordan.”

  
“Finally, only took him basically four days.”

  
Barry peeled open his eyes to see Bruce and Hal staring at him, arms crossed. He was sitting in a chair with some of Hal’s constructs restraining him. His head was pounding and he felt sore and weak all over.

  
“Looks like the imposter is finally awake,” Hal said, a slight edge to his tone.

  
Okay, he was very confused.

  
“Hal? Dad? What happened with Luthor?” His speech, he noticed, was the tiniest bit slurred.

  
At his words, Hal’s expression became mixed with shock but his dad had no visible reaction.

  
“What-wait-how-what?” Hal sputtered.

  
“Could you specify?” He asked, still confused.

  
Now that Barry looked at them, their uniforms were different. Hal’s was a lighter shade of green and his mask was narrower, while his dads had tints of blue in it and the bat on his chest was thinner. That observation made him even more confused, it that was even possible.

  
“How do you know Jordan’s name?” His dad spoke for the first time.

  
“What are you talking about Dad? I know his name because I know Hal. And why am I restrained? If this a prank, it’s not funny.”

  
“Um, I would like to circle back to the dad thing,” Hal said. “Bruce doesn’t have any kids.”

  
He was about to say of course he does, _I’m his kid_ , when something clicked. The weapon Luthor shot at him, the different uniforms, his dad and Hal’s lack of memories of him. The reason why he was currently being restrained like an intruder.

  
“Oh, this makes so much more sense now.” He said. “Look, if you guys can take off my cowl, which I can’t currently do for obvious reasons, I can explain myself.”

  
“I don’t know about…” Hal trailed off as his dad reached forward and yanked down his cowl.

  
“Holy shit,” Hal gasped. “You look just like-"

  
“Barry Allen,” He cut him off. “I know. My name’s Barry Allen-Wayne and I think I may be in the wrong universe.”

  
His dad (no, this wasn’t his dad, no matter how much he may look like him. Barry decided he’d call him Bruce)- _Bruce_ put his hand up to his cowl-covered ear.

  
“Emergency meeting in the Watchtower in twenty minutes. Don’t be late Allen.”

  
***

  
Bruce stood at the closed door to Barry’s room. He slowly reached out towards the doorknob, his hand stopping right before reaching it, hovering. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the sharp balloon of pain he’d felt since his son had been shot by that gun.

  
He couldn’t ignore it.

  
He opened his eyes and sharply twisted the handle and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He took in Barry’s scattered books and papers and clothes. His room was always messy from the wind he made by his superspeed, despite the number of times he had told him no superspeed in the house. He realized sharply that he’d never reprimand Barry for that again.

  
Bruce sat, almost fell back, on the bed. He tangled his hands in his hair and took in a shuddering breath. He didn’t know how to handle this. There was no contingency plan in place for this outcome. He didn’t know if he could live in a world that didn’t have his son in it. It had been four days, four days since his world had stopped. Slow tears started dropping out of his eyes, landing on the bed.

  
“Master Bruce.”

  
He looked up sharply to find Alfred standing in the doorway. Normally Bruce didn’t like being vulnerable in front of people but he couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment.

  
“Yes, Alfred?”

  
Alfred’s voice was thick when he spoke again, “Mister Kent called. He said the League has found a reason to believe that Master Bartholomew is alive.”

  
***

  
Barry nervously tapped his fingers on the huge conference table he was sitting at with Bruce and Hal. Bruce had called his League for a meeting about him (and, he thought hopefully, what they could do about getting him home). He had checked him over, confirming his being-from-an-alternate-universe and treating his injuries at the same time. He’d been given a painkiller that would work with his fast metabolism. His head was a lot less fuzzy now and his body wasn’t aching terribly. The change out of his charred suit and into sweatpants and a t-shirt helped too.

  
The doors to the room swung open and Clark, Diana, Arthur, and alternate Barry walked in. He saw alternate him pause for a second and stare at him, but he didn’t say anything, just sat down at the table. Everyone had their eyes on him and it made Barry slightly uncomfortable. His eyes jumped from member to member, taking in the differences in their suits.

  
“This is the Flash from an alternate universe,” Bruce spoke. “He was transported here when his Lex Luthor shot him with a weapon. We’ll be working to bring him back to his universe.”

  
Alternate him spoke up, “But I- _you_ look so young. You look like me when I was-"

  
“Fifteen, that’s how old I am,” He admitted. “And I’ve already been over the age issue with my dad and I’d rather not through it again.”

  
Bruce very slightly stiffened. Clark seemed to pick up on this and raised an eyebrow,

  
“Your dad?”

  
Hal nudged Barry, “Get this.” He whispered.

  
(He was starting to hurt his head a little calling his alternate self Barry. He settled on calling him Bartholomew).

  
“My full name is Barry Allen-Wayne.”

  
Bartholomew’s eyes widened and Hal laughed at his expression. Arthur gave a huff of laughter and Clark looked taken back.

  
“Oh my,” Diana breathed. “And, if you don’t mind me asking, how did it happen?”

  
“Oh um,” He laced his fingers together and looked down slightly. “When my mom and dad were killed, I was not placed with the best foster parent. He did not… treat me the best, to say the least.”

  
“I’m sorry that that happened to you,” Clark told him.

.  
“It’s fine, now that I’m with my dad.” He said, a slight smile coming to face.

  
He ignored the pang of sadness in his chest (he missed his dad). He really wanted to get out of this universe. He wanted to go home.

  
A thought occurred to him then.

  
“Wait,” He said, slightly panicked. “Does my dad know that I’m here?”

  
“Did you know that you had been transported here when you first arrived?” Bartholomew asked him.

  
“No,” He shook his head. “I had to put the pieces together.”

  
“Then he most likely doesn’t know,” Arthur said.

  
Barry was feeling panicked now.

  
“Lex Luthor shot a weapon at me and I disappeared. Oh my God, my dad probably thinks I’m dead. I have to talk to him, I-we have to get contact with him, we have to tell him-"

  
“Son,” Clark laid a hand on his shoulder. “breathe. We’ll contact your Bruce and we’ll get you home. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  
Barry took a breath.

  
“Okay, well, let’s get started.”

  
***

  
Bruce stormed into the conference room, cowl down, and his eyes immediately locked onto Clark. He grabbed the big blue boy scout by his collar.

  
“What do you mean my son could still be alive?” He demanded.

  
“We analyzed particles left by the weapon and discovered that the weapon sent him somewhere. It didn’t kill him.” Clark explained calmly.

  
He let go of Clark and took a step back. He could feel his hopes rising but he tried to squash them down. It’s not that Bruce didn’t want to not believe him, it’s that he couldn’t afford to believe him and then have it not be true.

  
“What if the data’s wrong?” He questioned.

  
“It’s not. Diana already interrogated Luthor with her lasso and confirmed it. Bruce, your son is alive.”

  
He felt a surge of emotions wash over him, the most prominent being relief. His son was alive. He would see his boy again.

  
“Let’s bring him home.”

  
***

  
Barry was hunched over a complex system of computers with Bartholomew, working on a device that would hopefully allow to communicate with his dad. Bruce, Diana, Clark, and Arthur were working on a transportation device. Hal had gone to go talk to some of his alien friends to see if they knew anything about traveling between universes. He had no idea where J’onn was, but he felt it was best not to mention it. He didn’t want to disrupt any of their timelines or anything.

  
“So,” Bartholomew began. “What’s it like living with the Bats?”

  
“It’s great. He really cares about me. I mean he’s my dad, you know?” Barry said, starting to connect two wires together.

  
“I just can’t imagine living with Batman.”

  
“Well, he saved me from a really awful place. My old foster parent was terrible. He was abusive, mentally and physically, and my dad saved me from that.” He admitted quietly.

  
“Wow. Your Bruce seems like a really amazing parent.”

  
“He is,” Barry smiled softly. “Though, your Bruce seems less inclined towards me.”

  
“I think he just doesn’t know how to react towards a kid who views him as a father, even if you aren’t his kid and he isn’t your dad. So, he distances himself instead of dealing with it.”

  
“Sounds like our Batman when we first meet.” Barry scoffed.

  
“What changed?”

  
“The League came together.” He said simply.

  
He connected the last two wires and the largest screen popped to life, static filling it.

  
“It’s on!” Barry shouted in delight. “But the screens not working, it’s filled with static.”

  
“Yeah, there is something wrong with the screen,” Bartholomew confirmed, checking out the wiring. “But it looks like the audio should be working, you can still talk to your dad.”

  
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Clark asked, coming up to them. “Call your dad Barry.”

  
***

  
Bruce hadn’t stopped working since Clark had told him Barry was still alive. His motivation to see his son again outweighed the fact that he hadn’t slept since Barry was taken from him four and a half days ago. Or that he hadn’t shaved or that he’d barely eaten either.

  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clark approaching him. He ignored the man until he was standing over where he was seated at a computer.

  
“Did you need anything Kent?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the computer.

  
“Bruce, you look awful. You’re no help to Barry in your state.” He said bluntly.

  
He just raised an eyebrow in response.

  
“You need to eat and rest Bruce. We can continue working for a few hours without you.” He plowed on.

Bruce stopped typing and stood up, matching Clark in his height.

“Let me make one thing clear. I will not stop working to bring Barry home until he is home. For all we know, he could be in some universe with supervillains ruling over it. My son could be hurt and in pain while I would be sleeping. I will not rest until my son is home. Do you understand?”

  
Clark looked at him with sympathy and sighed.

  
“We all feel the same way, but you can’t just stop taking care of yourself. It’s not what Barry would want and you-"

  
He was cut off by the incoming transmission alarm sounding. The League all went and surrounded the main computer where the alarm was sounding from.

  
“Incoming audio transmission from unknown.” The computer spoke.

  
“Computer, accept transmission.” Diana said.

  
The pickup line sounded and a defying whine sounded from the computer. Everyone flinched back and Bruce leaned forward, trying to shut off the sound. But it ended as soon as it started and a familiar voice replaced it.

  
“Hello? Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?”

  
Bruce slammed his hand on the push-to-talk button.

  
“Barry, son, is that you?”

  
A peal of laughter came through the speakers and Bruce decided then that it was the best sound he had ever heard.  
  
“Yeah Dad, it’s me. I’m in an alternate universe and I’m with this universes’ League. I’m alright Dad.”

  
Bruce could feel the palpable relief in the room at his words. He could feel the tight, hot ball that had been sitting high in his chest for days finally began to loosen, just a bit.

  
“Thank God,” He breathed. “We’re working to bring you home Barry, just hang tight a little longer.”

  
“This League is working on it too,” He paused for a moment. “I have just been informed by alternate twenty-something year old me that they’re almost finished. They just need to transfer this signal to the device.”

  
“Is it safe?” He asked.

  
The pause from Barry’s end was a little too long for Bruce’s taste.

  
“Safer than Luthor’s device, at any rate.”

  
“Just… come home as safely as you can.”

  
“I will Dad,” There was some muttering on his end. “I have to go, if I talk for much longer the system might fry and then they’ll lose the signal. I’ll be home soon Dad, it won’t be longer than twenty-four hours.”

  
“See you soon son.”

  
There was a crackle and then the line ended.

  
***

Barry examined the device that was built like an arch a few hours later, noting that this was looked a lot less sinister than the one Luthor had used on him.

  
“Will this one knock me out too?” He asked, poking at it.

  
“There’s a 99 percent chance it won’t,” Clark answered him. “You’ll probably still feel rough afterward, but traveling between universes isn’t the easiest thing on your body.”

  
“Okay, well let’s do this.”

  
“We will turn it on and a glow will fill underneath the arch. You’ll just walk through and be transported to your universe.” Bartholomew explained.

  
He nodded, ignoring the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. Diana punched a few buttons and, just like they said, the arch was filled with a warm gold glow. He walked forward towards it, but stopped just before it and turned around.

  
“Uh, thank you guys, for everything.” He said.

 

“You’re welcome mini-me,” Bartholomew said.

  
He saluted them and walked back into the glow.

  
***

  
Barry felt the sensation of falling and then he landed flat on his back, the breath knocked out of him. He pulled in a gasp of breath, feeling the familiar ache of transporting between universes. He heard the pounding of footsteps and then his dad’s face filled his vision.

  
“Dad?” He said, his voice sounding breathless.

  
His dad scooped him up and pulled him into the most bone-crushing hug he’d ever received. He shakily returned it, burying his face in his dad’s chest. He closed his eyes, feeling tears clump in his eyelashes. He didn’t know how long they stayed like this, but he didn’t care. When his dad finally released him, he cupped Barry’s face in his hands.

  
“Hey, Dad.” He said weakly, a soft smile overtaking his face.

  
He let out a watery laugh, brushing his thumb across his son’s cheek.

  
“You’re here.”

  
“I’m here.” He nodded.

  
Bruce pulled Barry forwards until his forehead was resting against his. Barry closed his eyes. He was home.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, everyone, I promise the next installment will start to introduce the batfamily. This idea just hit me and I had to write it. Please leave kudos and comments, they really help motivate me! Hope you enjoyed!


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